Hello 2017

Hello and Happy New Year!

I have never bothered with reflections on the previous year or resolutions for the next one. But 2016 has been a little different, so I figured why not share some of the things I've done and some of the things I planned on doing this year.

In 2016 I...

1. ...graduated. 

Last year at uni was a really sucky time, it was a lot of hard work and towards the end I had very little motivation to keep going. But I ended up with a First. I know it sounds like I'm showing off, and actually I am! I am very proud of myself for sticking with it even though I realised my degree was completely unrelated to what I really wanted to do...

2. I figured out what I wanted to do!

For the longes time I didn't know what I should do after graduation. A lot of people encouraged me to do a postgraduate degree and I was very close to applying for one, but I never went through with it. Once I really thought about it I realised that the only thing I ever really loved doing was drawing. I know that illustration is an extremely dificult profession to get into and even if I succeed it will be years before I get anywhere. But I want to stick with it and see what I can do. It's strangely comforting thought.

3. I moved in with Paul.

Easily the best thing I've done this year. 

4. And then we moved to Glasgow.

I've written a separate blog post (you can find it here) about how tough it was, but I'm glad we did it.

5. I have created a Facebook page and a blog.

It was lots of work and I still need to work on posting more regularly, but I'm glad I made a start on it.

6. I made my own Christmas cards.

It seems like a very minor thing, especially because I made my own cards last year. But I really took my time with these and got really lovely comments on them.

7. I got my first ever proper job.

And subsequently became a self sufficient (kinda) functional adult.

8. I got my first comission.

Actually more than one. I haven't shared the majority of it anywhere, so I figured why not do it now.

Here is a wee birthday card I made for my friend Jatta's dad. It was my first paid comission and it means a lot to me, even though I'd do it very differently now.

The next one was for my friend's photography page.

I then had a go at making a book cover for the same friend, but as it's not been published yet, I can't share the author or the title. This was a tough one because I had very little time to do it and had to change a lot along the way to fit in with what my friend wanted. But it was good practice for when I finally get to work with clients.

This last one was quite close to my heart because it involved two really nice people and hiking.

New Year's Resolutions:

1. Be less precious about drawing and sharing what I draw. I feel like I've not experimented and sketched enough because I always wanted to end up with a proper finished piece and it feels like I've missed out. I have also been very selective, but really I should be posting the good and the bad.

2. Open an etsy shop. I feel like it would be the first real step towards a career in illustration.

3. Make a calendar.

4. Make Christmas cards again.

5. Drop some hours at work and spend them on drawing if we can afford it.

6. Buy a new laptop and a graphic tablet, so I can finally start drawing digitally.

7. Get a dog. Here, I said it. Paul and I have been talking about it for too long, I think it's time we man up and do it.

That's it. I hope that if anyone is making New Year's resolutions they can make them happen. And I hope so can I.

Okay, bye!